The Anti-tri Majority

After sailing the kayak as a trimaran a number of times I've decided to just use it as the kayak it was meant to be, and I'm good with that. It sailed well, but I couldn't paddle it properly because the aft aka was in the way. It was also a hassle to put together and take apart and transport. I'm actually enjoying paddling it as a kayak since I've figured a better seat back. And I like that it's so seaworthy compared to the skin-on-frame boat, which I'm letting go of.

I still want a sailboat that I can keep at the Cadboro Bay compound, not to car-top. So I decided to research different designs. I want something not so large that I can't build it in John's loft, and not so heavy that I can't handle maneuvering it on a cart. I landed on Jim Michalak's "Mixer2", which he describes as a good rowboat and sailboat. It's supposed to be fairly light at around 100 lbs, and should be relatively easy to build. I like that his boats are low-tech, therefore more accessible to home builders.

I may be able to use the rudder I made for the kayak. This boat is 12' 6" long and 4' wide. Note that the pivoting board is on the outside, making for an unobstructed cockpit area.

The boat has quite a bit of waterproof storage space, and the large, open cockpit area is good for someone who dreams of sleeping aboard while camp-cruising. However, I can't sit flat on anything; I need a little drop for my feet. So I'm planning to build low, closed-in benches along the sides. That will make it more difficult to sleep on the floor, so I'm planning to have floorboards that lift up and sit on a lip on the inner edges of the benches, which will make a flat surface the whole width of the boat! We'll see how that pans out. And if I ever do go camp-cruising in it. . .

I thought I'd build with exterior grade fir ply (¼"), but the lumber yard person persuaded me not to, so I bought some marine mahogany ply, a great expense! But worth it, as it's very good to work with.

In the photo above, I'm tracing one side piece to make a duplicate; the bottom (or part of it) is drawn out on the sheet below that.

Instead of expensive epoxy, I'm using Titebond III to join wood parts. On the underside of the joints you see above are 4" wide "butt straps" that make the planks double thickness at the joint. The flat ends of the plywood are butted against each other, rather than being scarfed, or bevel-cut. Butt straps are not as elegant as a scarf joint, but they're far simpler to do.

I'm planning to call this boat Golightly 2.